"Block him."

"He's technically still my boss."

"Then block him with dignity."

The call ended again.
And then started again.
I let out a sound somewhere between a growl and a sob, then finally answered with the enthusiasm of a snail crawling through salt. "Yes, Mr. Walton?"

"Have you changed your mind yet?"

I collapsed onto the towel and gazed at the sky as though it might consume me entirely if I pleaded sweetly enough.

"Do you ever take a break?" I asked, shielding my eyes with one hand.

"You're avoiding the question."

"Because it's a dumb question."

He exhaled, the sound sharp and irritated even over phone. "It's not a dumb question. It's a business offer."

"It's a weird offer-one that I already said no to."

There was a brief pause, and I could practically hear him clenching his jaw through the speaker.
"You are acting unreasonably."

" Unreasonable?" I sat up. "I'm not the one drafting fake girlfriend contracts like it's a normal Tuesday."

"Isabella-"

"Certainly not, Mr. Walton." I mimicked his tone perfectly. "I told you I'm not doing it. You need to find someone else to play pretend with."


SYNOPSIS 
Isabella Miller thought saying no to her boss’s fake dating offer was the end of the story.
But Adrien Walton doesn’t take no—especially not when he’s convinced she’s a gold digger.

Suddenly, her student loans are piling up, her father’s vet clinic is on the brink of eviction and her brother is about to be kicked out of college. Coincidence? She thinks not.

Adrien Walton is calm, calculating—and he's just pulled every string to corner Isabella into the perfect position.

Now she’s stuck choosing between pride and survival.
So she agrees to his offer: be his fake girlfriend.
No feelings attached. No drama. Just business.

Or so she thought.

"Conference Room B. Fifteen minutes," he said, passing by without a glance.
The folder he pushed across the table landed with a thud.
I opened it. The contract. All of it.

---

Enemies to lovers? Check.
Slow burn? Hmmnyea.
Banter so sharp it might file your nails? Yes.
Delicious workplace tension? Of course.
Tension that could melt steel?Absolutely.
Smut?? Wanna find out?

Welcome to corporate romance warfare. There’s no escaping this contract.

I was leaning back in my chair. The soft light from the desk lamp painted calm shadows over the scattered documents in front of me. For a moment, the day's chaos felt distant — a quiet pocket of stillness in the storm.


I was buried in quarterly reports when the door to my study creaked open.


Only one person had the audacity to walk into my study without knocking like he paid the mortgage here.


I didn't look up from the document in front of me. "If you're here to raid the liquor cabinet, it's locked."


"Temporarily," came his voice, breezy and far too casual. "But thanks for the vote of confidence."


Chapter 125 - Borrowed Armor